[3]Today I’m posting a couple recipes perfect for a gluten-free baby shower. When I read that Cheryl at Gluten Free Goodness[4] was hosting a virtual baby shower[5] for Sea at Book of Yum[6], I immediately signed up. What a fun idea to celebrate the impending birth of Baby Yum! Sea and her website have not only been providing hundreds of gluten-free and vegetarian recipes to others trying to live a happy and healthy gluten-free life, but have also inspired and encouraged others to do the same.

So, keeping this in mind, what recipes could I possibly offer her for this special event? She already has such a library of wonderful recipes. And, I have no doubt she will create many new ones suitable for Baby Yum. So I decided to create something new and fun that you might offer at a baby shower.

First, I made Raspberry Divinity Tarts. They aren’t made with the traditional divinity candy, but these are truly divine. The tart shell is a simple meringue to which I added a little almond flavor. I love working with meringue for so many reasons: it’s quick and easy to make, fun to work with, yummy to eat, and naturally gluten-free (vegetarian, soy-free, and dairy-free, too!). With berries being in season, I thought it seemed like the perfect thing to pair with with the meringue. Even better, raspberries sitting in a pool of chocolate ganache on top of clouds of meringue. YUM-y!

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper[8].

In a medium glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites until they become foamy little bubbles. Add the cream of tartar and almond extract. Continue beating at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sugar while beating until smooth and glossy and stiff peaks form.

To make the individual tart-like shells, use a piping bag with tip. (I used Wilton disposable decorating bag[9] and open star tip #32[10].) Or, if you don’t have these, you can simply use a zip-style plastic bag and cut the tip off a corner to squeeze out the meringue. Fill the bag with the meringue and make the tart shapes directly onto the parchment paper. To make the base, start in the middle and start swirling the meringue in a circle and then build up the sides. I tried this two different ways: just continuing in the circular motion to build the sides; and making stars around the sides by holding the bag and tip vertically. Both turned out nice.

Place the meringue tarts in the oven and bake for 2 hours. Take them out and let them cool while you prepare the chocolate ganache.

To make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a small glass mixing bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. When it begins to boil, immediately pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir until it is creamy smooth.

Place about 1/2 tsp of chocolate ganache in the middle of each meringue tart.

[11]Place one or two raspberries on top of the ganache on each tart. If desired, drizzle extra chocolate over the raspberries.

Additional Notes:

The meringue tart shells can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container for at least a week. However, once the chocolate and raspberry have been added to the tarts, you should either serve within a few hours or refrigerate.

If the ganache is difficult to drizzle, heat it up in the microwave for ten seconds to thin it out.

[12]

Rubber Duckie Meringue Cookies

After I made the tarts, I decided to make another batch of meringue and play with it a little. I added some yellow food coloring and tried making rubber duckies. It took several attempts, but I think I managed to create cute little ducks that would be a great addition to a Little Duck Baby Shower[13].

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites until they become foamy little bubbles. Add the cream of tartar, almond extract, and yellow food coloring. Continue beating at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sugar while beating until smooth and glossy and stiff peaks form.

To make the ducks, I used a piping bag with round tip. (I used Wilton disposable decorating bag[9] and round tip #12[10].) If you don’t have these, you can simply use a zip-style plastic bag and cut the tip off a corner to squeeze out the meringue. Fill the bag with the meringue and make the body of the duck by building up the body from the front to the back and up to create the tail. Then, go back to the front to make a round head. As I made the head, I pulled the tip to the front where the beak would be and ended there.

Next add candy to create eyes and beak.

Place ducks in the oven and bake for 2 hours.

Let them cool on the cookie sheets.

Place them on a plate to serve, or store in an airtight container.

Additional Notes:

Try to work quickly to get the ducks formed and into the oven. I found that the longer they sat in a warm kitchen, the more likely they would slowly spread and lose shape.

If you have trouble removing the ducks from the parchment paper, carefully slide a flat knife under them to lift from the paper.